Close To Home
by 1stGreasergal
Summary: When a case hits close to home, will Elliot be able to keep his temper in check or will this finally be the last straw? Rewrite to 9. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

The phone above his head rang violently. He tried desperately to tune it out. It had been a long day with no vindication in sight. He just wanted to shut out the world for a few hours to escape the grotesque images he faced every day, but his luck seemed to be fading. He rolled on to his opposite side and without making an effort to switch on the light he snatched the phone from its cradle. "Stabler," he stated as if the mere mention of his name were too exhausting to get out. "I'll be right there."

Rubbing the sand from his eyes, he leapt on to the floor, again avoiding the introduction of light to the room; he proceeded to change with only the moonlight to guide him. He slipped into the suit he had worn no more than one hour before. He added the final touch of his spit shinned black leather shoes to his gray suit ensemble and headed out the door.

The busy sounds of the street did nothing to alleviate the headache that was now pushed its way into his temples. The steady stream of street lights just added to the pounding. Four obnoxious lights later he reached his final destination. The cascade of blue and white police cars gave away the obvious environment in which he was about to enter. As he pulled his car to a stop as he is greeted by the semi-smiling face of his partner, Olivia. "You awake?" she asked as he stumbled from the driver side. He nodded as if to answer 'no' to which she let out a low laugh, "What can I say? Justice never sleeps."

Elliot followed close behind his partner as they made their way into the rundown brownstone that was now the central focus of their current expedition. "What are we looking at?" he finally let those five little words escape his mouth. "The woman in the apartment above heard some whimpering and thought maybe a dog had been abandoned. You can imagine how shocked the SPCA was to find a young woman bond, gagged, and badly beaten tied to the wall. They called us."

"How old?" he inquired. "Twenty-two, twenty-three. Ambulance already took her downtown. She wasn't very coherent when I tried to talk to her." The twosome entered making their way through the graffiti ridden hallway up two flights of steps to Apartment 321. The door was already wide open with various uniforms making their way in and out. Elliot, still close behind, followed Olivia into the tiny one bedroom apartment. The smell of rotting garbage and mildew abruptly found his nasal passages and he was forced to cover his nose.

The room was riddled with empty beer bottles and the remnants of various fast food paraphernalia. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the flash of the CSI camera in use beside him. They were snapping photos of the ridged leather restraints bolted to the wall. Upon closer examination he could make out spatters of blood on the wall as well as the restraints. He was sure its presence only added the horrible aroma spreading through the room. "Who knows how long she was trapped in this filth." He glanced at Olivia as she shook her head in acknowledgement of her own statement.

He did his best to get the possible images of a young hopeful girl entering the big city to end up the sex slave attached to some maniac's wall. All the hopes and dreams quickly beaten out of her. The more he pushed the images from his mind the stronger his headache became. The more he tried to relax his mind the more he felt nauseous. He began to debate whether or not it was the possible migraine that was leading to the nausea or the pictures he so desperately tried to push from his brain. It was no use either way, they were there to stay.

The two finished their usual sweep of the room and questioned the upstairs neighbor as well as those who shared the hall, but to no avail. No one could give an ID of the man who had used and abused the poor girl now undergoing even more horrendous punishment downtown. They wrapped up the area and walked out of the building. The partners went their separate ways. Olivia headed to the hospital to see what the victim could add to the investigation while Elliot headed to the office to grab a change of clothes before he too headed to the hospital.

As he entered the swinging doors to the open office, he was met with the sluggish gaze of fellow detectives Munch and Finn. "Long morning?" Munch through up at Elliot. "It's been a long month." Elliot walked over to the unit's new coffee maker and poured himself a cup. "Oh, I almost forgot. You have a visitor," Munch added as Elliot lifted his head from the piping hot goodness in this hand. "At 4 o'clock in the morning?" Munch just lifted his shoulders in the normal grunting response of morning grogginess and pointed off to the holding bench in the corner. Elliot turned his gaze in the direction of the extended finger where he could barely make out the small figure of a woman adorned in a long sleeve green shirt and black jeans in the corner. Still unsure who it might be he inched his way toward the bench.

As the female felt the movement beside her she raised her eyes to meet his. He froze in his place and they both seemed to be locked in an awkward stare. Elliot was now wide awake as he approached the eyes of someone he hadn't seen in a long time. The innocent eyes that he hadn't looked into since she stormed out of his house two long years ago. She stood from the bench obviously unsure of the reception she would be facing. He came within hugging distance and stopped. They continued to stare.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned. Her long brown air swooped into her eyes as she lower her head to him. "Christina? What are you doing here?" he repeated his question this time making his aggravation blatantly obvious. She finally lifted her eyes to his, eyes that mirrored his own and with a similar feeling of aggravation stated, "Nice to see you too, big brother. Glad to know I was missed."


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: I don't own Law & Order: SVU_.

"I asked you what you were doing here, Chris," he insisted on repeating the question until he was satisfied he had received a worthy answer. "I came to spend time with my brother. I thought you'd be happy to see me." Elliot continued to observe her movements and how she handled herself. Though he felt the same presence that he remembered all those years ago something was different. A few years of growth can do that to a person. But why after all these years does she come waltzing in at 4am to find him?

"I have a phone. You could have called," he stated to the young woman as she shifted her view from him to the floor and to the squad room as if she was doing surveillance of her own. "I tried your number, it's disconnected. I figured you had moved so I thought I would try here," she stated as she fought through her frustration. "Kathy and I split up. If you had kept in touch, you would know that." She could no longer keep her growing frustration to herself and made it known to not only her arrogant sibling, but to the entire squad. "Well, Elliot seems like I'm an adult now and I'm allowed to have a life of my own. I came here to spend some time with you, but since you insist on being a jackass, I think I'll just go back to my adult life and leave you alone," she stated letting all of her pent up anger escape in one foul swoop.

All eyes turned to the enraged woman as she grew louder with each word. There was no conversation worth having through all of that. Elliot was quite aware of the attention they were receiving, but it seemed Chris didn't care. She bent down to the bench, retrieved her bag and walked out the swinging doors. Elliot took a second to collect himself and followed his sibling out the doors. As he hit the hall he began to run for the front door of the station. He caught her as she grabbed the push bar to exit. "Christina, wait!" She didn't stop. She pushed the door open and found herself amidst the traffic of the busy sidewalk out front.

Elliot tugged on her arm, grabbing her attention as she swung around to again, meet his eyes. "Chris, look. I'm sorry. That wasn't the welcoming you deserved, but I was a little shocked to see you after all this time; especially at four something in the morning," he proclaimed in the most apologetic tone he could muster. She shrugged, "I'm an early riser." He shook off her comment, "Let me get you situated at my new place, alright?" She let out a little grin and nodded. The tension released from the two as they walked to the car. Once inside they quickly sped off.

The short drive was quick. Neither really added to the silence that enveloped the interior. Both seemed to be too tired to care. Up one flight of stairs and a quick key to the lock, they entered the tiny apartment. Chris looked around, "It's quaint." "It's what I can afford," he responded. "I'm gonna change real quick and then I need to head out." "Busy life of a detective, I know how it is. I'll make myself at home," she smiled to him. "I'm sure you will," he retorted.

Elliot disappeared into the bedroom, leaving Chris behind to hit the couch. He could make out the sounds of the tiny television flip on as he closed the door. This was definitely not something he expected today. He was still angry that she showed up out of nowhere, but he knew better than to let his quick temper and lack of sleep push her away again. He found another suit hanging in the closet and took no time switching out clothes. As he slipped his shoes on he heard a knock at his door. He turned to see that she had cracked it, but all he could make out was one eye staring down at him, "I noticed you have some left over fried chicken in the fridge. Mind if I have it?" He could imagine the little cute face she was putting on since he heard it in her voice, "Fried chicken for breakfast? Sure. Can't guarantee it isn't growing anything," She realized he was dressed and pushed the door open revealing the look he had been picturing all along, "That's fine. I've had worse."

He stood from the bed and headed out of the bedroom. He grabbed his keys from the breakfast bar making his way to the front door. The buzzing noise of the microwave filled his ears as he turned to his pre-occupied sister, "I'm not sure when I'll be home." She nodded and kept her attention on the microwave, waving her hand behind her. He shook his head and closed the door behind him.

St. John's Memorial Hospital

He soon met his partner outside the hospital room of their victim. "What took you so long?" Olivia questioned. "Unexpected visitor, Chris showed up at the station." Olivia looked at him puzzled, "Chris?" He nodded, "Christina." He watched the various thoughts run through her glazed eyes as she tried to put two and two together. "Your sister?" she finally responded, "I haven't heard her name in a long time." "As you can guess, I wasn't expecting to see her. How's the victim?" he slyly changed the subject.

Olivia removed her notepad from her left pant suit pocket, "Twenty-five year old Shondra Wallace. She currently has a head full of stitches and her mouth is so swollen she can only communicate through a notepad. She has ankle, wrist and neck burns from the leather rubbing her raw and whip marks up and down her back. She was able to tell me that the perp. is white, about 6 foot and he looks like a football player. I couldn't get much else out of her." Again the images of this huge white male beating on this tiny black female seemed to make his head spin. The cruelty of people amazed him, but how could someone possibly get sexual pleasure out of watching this woman bleed? He tried to focus, "We need to find the landlord." Olivia agreed.

Back at the station, the two barraged the phones trying to find anyone who might have the number for the landlord. The only number any of the tenants had was an answering machine that was kept in the building. When the landlord finally cared to check on his tenants he could come and check the messages. It was apparently far and few times between that he would actually show up to fix anything. They had been at it for 3 hours now and where about ready to hit the streets to see if they could find anything other than what a disconnected phone line could get them. Elliot took one final sip of his coffee and stood from his chair. He noticed that the headache he had been worried about earlier had finally seceded. Maybe it was going to be an okay day after all.

Olivia was already stretching, yawning out the limited sleep she had received. He rubbed his eyes and grabbed for his suit jacket from the back of his chair. "Detective Benson?" he heard a voice call out to his partner behind him. He turned to reveal a small man, maybe 5'5", probably Italian standing within inches of Olivia. "Yes," she confirmed, "Can I help you?" The man extended his hand to her, which she took a second to respond to. "Martin Pinhero, I own the building you found that girl in this morning." While Elliot was relieved to see the man he could understand her hesitation with wanting to greet him, he didn't look like someone you would want to come in contact with without full hazmat gear on. Greasy black hair and a dingy white and blue jogging suit; his odor was evident from the opposite side of the desks. Elliot grabbed a seat from behind him knowing full well Olivia wasn't about to offer him hers.

The man graciously accepted the seat offered him. Elliot began the questioning, "What can you tell us about the man who rents that apartment?" Mr. Pinhero began his story, "His name is Jack Dent. Big guy, real scary looking. I never had any problems from him. Always paid on time." Elliot eyeballed the man and got the distinct feeling he wasn't being completely forthcoming, but it was better than the nothing they had before. He asked, "You know where this Jack Dent works?" Martin Pinhero nodded his confirmation.

MacMillan Construction

Elliot and Olivia approached the single wide trailer surrounded by mounds of dirt and rebar pilings. The main door opened accompanied by a 'whoosh' noise. Elliot lost his footing as it seemed to fly open on its own. "Damn it, I told you guys to open it slowly!" An older man clad in blue jeans and flannel shirt approached them. He began to choke down his words when he realized who had entered. "Sorry, the A/C in here is pretty powerful and it'll slam that door right through the wall." Elliot nodded the man off as he looked around the room. The walls were covered in random drawings and there was an obvious set of plans strewn across the elevated table that sat in the middle of the room. Olivia entered making sure to not come in contact with the door as her and Elliot removed their badges.

The man acknowledged them, "What can I do for you?" Elliot continued his survey of the room. The drawings alone were amazing, but to think, some of the buildings now stood in their very city. Buildings that probably cost a few million dollars and there was no doubt in his mind that too many rapists, drug dealers, pedophiles and murders had put their hard work into building them. Construction was fast money and too much of it. No education with a big paycheck.

Olivia asked, "Do you have someone named Jack Dent working for you?" The man's face quickly dropped. "That lazy ass? Not anymore. He worked here 2 months. Showed up maybe a total of a week. Took a job at local club as a bouncer. Good riddance." Elliot gave Olivia a tiny smirk and directed the next obvious question, "What's the name of the club?" This time the man paused and almost appeared embarrassed. "It's one of those fetish clubs. Sticks and Stones. They are into some pretty hardcore stuff from how Jack used to talk. I'll never understand those places. Doesn't open until 10pm, though." Just what he needed; to go to a club full of perverts. That will make his day much better. Elliot shook his head and looked once again at Olivia as she handed the man her card.

Back at the station they discussed the morning's discoveries with the Captain. They recapped how the victim was found, her current condition, the landlord's special appearance and finding the current job of Jack Dent. The Captain took all the information in and determined that, since they couldn't go after Dent until the club opened that night, they should go home and get some rest. They all agreed there was no way they would be able take this guy down with their current lack of proper brain function. Elliot took his cue, put his jacket on and walked out of the station and to his car.

He slowly walked up the one flight of stairs that separated him from his bed. His key hit the lock and the door flew open. All he was thinking about was the warm blanket that awaited him and he was so consumed by that thought he forgot he had company. When it finally dawned on him, he realized how loudly he had opened the door but much to his relief it didn't seem to bother Chris. There she lied, out cold on his hard couch with the TV still blaring. He let a small smile escape his lips as he made his way over to the TV and pressed the power button.

She continued to lie completely still even as he reached for the blanket that laid on the back of the couch and draped it over her. He turned to his bedroom door and slowly pushed the door open, entered and shut it. He removed his shoes and stripped down to his boxers and undershirt. He calmly lied down in the bed he had been daydreaming about since he woke up and was unconscious before his head hit the pillow.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: I don't own Law and Order: SVU._

Elliot rolled over to stare at his blinking alarm clock. He was slightly perturbed at being rudely awakened by a pounding on this door, but now realized he had no idea what time it was, the disturbance may have actually been a blessing. Chris once again peeked through the crack in the doorway, "Elliot. Get up. It's dinner time." He refused to verbally acknowledge her and continued to stare at the doorway. He thought he would be lucky enough to ignore her and get away with it before he had to get up and get changed, but she wasn't giving up that easy. The door flew open causing him to jump from his bed. "I made dinner, now get off your ass and get out here. Thank you," she added the polite ending and even a smile causing him to once again shake his head at her. They were so much a like, it was frightening.

He checked his watch that laid flung on the side table. 7:30 pm. He rolled out of bed with watch in hand. Knowing full well he might end up on a stake out he went to the laundry basket that sat in the corner of his room and picked through it pulling out a semi-clean pair of blue jeans and a button down shirt. There was no way he was going to sit in either his or Olivia's uncomfortable car for possibly hours in one of his only clean suits. He looked around his room for his white tennis shoes and realized he had left them in the living. Now he was going to have to face his rude awakening awaiting his presence at the breakfast bar. He stuck his head out the door as the smell of spaghetti sauce filled the tiny apartment.

He took a seat at the mini-bar as she played servant placing a plate in front of him and dishing out a pile of noodles and spooning sauce over top. "Since when do you cook?" he inquired. She gave him a little smile as she dished herself out some spaghetti and sauce as well, "You'd be surprised at what I have picked up since I got out. I'll tell you. Eating MREs everyday makes you appreciate home cooking so I took the opportunity to learn. Besides, the electricity went out so all there was to use was the gas stove. Came back on about five minutes ago." He stared at the huge lump on his plate and debated whether or not he was ready to give it a try. She used to experiment making cakes and even tried rice, which she had successfully managed to destroy every time she tried. She watched as he inspected the meal, "Come on Elliot. I promise. It won't kill you." He shook his head at her and tentatively pushed his fork into the pile. Only pulling out a small amount and wrapping it around his fork, he stuck it in his mouth as she stared at him.

As he removed the fork from his mouth leaving the food behind his expression went from fear to one of shock. "Not bad," he commented with a smile. "No faith," she replied back. They both heartily dug into their meal, "Heading back to work, soon?" she questioned. He simply nodded and kept his attention focused on the food. "Wanna talk about it?" she continued to stretch out the questions. He looked up in almost a sad expression, "Not something I really like discussing." "Alright," she added, "Anything you want to talk about? I'm not a fan of eating with someone in silence." He continued to glare at her, "Why don't you tell me what you've been up to for the past two years? No phone calls and all I get are a few postcards, all with a different return address."

She shrugged and it was now her turn to focus on the meal in front of her. "Working a lot of odd jobs. After our blow up I decided I was going to search the city and try to find myself. Never really stayed in one place for too long. Sorry I couldn't write more. I didn't call because I wasn't sure you would want to talk to me," she continued to stare down at her food. He noticed the almost sad look that appeared on her face. He got the distinct feeling there was something she didn't want to tell him, "So, did you find yourself?" he asked. She shook her head, "Not really," she paused trying to find the right words. "Things got complicated. I realized I had lost myself in the shuffle of things, so I decided to get back to my roots and here I am."

He continued to feed from his plate, "Care to elaborate on exactly what the 'shuffle of things' was?" She let out a little smile, "Care to elaborate on why you and Cathy separated?" He simply shook his head 'no.' That had been a conversation he had avoided since everything happened chalking it up to occupational hazard. She simply stated, "I didn't think so. Maybe one day, but for the moment, I just want to forget all that and focus on the here and now. Mind if I ride your couch for a while?" He took a second to ponder the question knowing full well he was placing her on the edge of her stool. He liked the thought of having someone around to come home to again. The peace and quiet of his new found freedom was not something he cherished. He smiled up at her, "Of course." She shook her head in appreciation as she spooned a full fork of spaghetti into her mouth.

He picked up his now empty plate and brought it over to the sink behind her. Splashing some water on it he dropped it into the wide opening. "I need to head out." She nodded to him. "I'm not sure when I'm going to be back." She nodded again, stating through her full mouth, "Yes, I know the life of a detective. Go." He grabbed the door knob and looked back to her. He had to chuckle to himself as he watched her stuff her face with the very well prepared dinner. She truly was a mixed blessing.

Sticks and Stones Night Club

Elliot and Olivia kept their eyes intent on the door of the club. The two sat sharing Olivia's car and tried their best to keep themselves entertained. They counted out the number of club goers that had visible nipple rings or how many walked in dressed in something other than leather. Elliot was not sure if he truly wanted Jack Dent to show up because that would mean he would have to be witness to what a club like this had to offer someone and he wasn't sure that was something he wanted inside knowledge of. Three hours had passed with no sign of him.

"What time did he say Dent was supposed to show?" Elliot addressed to Olivia. "Owner said he had to work at 10:30 pm. Obviously he's not employee of the month." Elliot let out a little frustrated grunt as he continued to watch the front doors. "Get a chance to talk to Chris?" He nodded to Olivia keeping his eyes focused ahead, "Yea. She's not very forthcoming about where she's been. She disappears for two years and just expects to skate by with 'Hello.' I don't feel like pushing it right now, besides, she makes some great spaghetti. I could use a good cook." Olivia smiled at him, "The same girl you told me burned rice?" He laughed and nodded back to her, "The very same one." His smile quickly faded as he picked up the guest of honor entering the club. "There he is."

The partners were out of the car in a flash. Carefully they made their way down the street avoiding the oncoming traffic. Elliot entered first with Olivia close behind. She made sure to keep her gun within range of her hand. There was no telling what they were about to find inside. They needed to be ready for anything. The smoky room was accented by the strobe lights attached to the walls now disrupting their view of the suspect. The safe bet was to hit the bar. As they broke through the crowd, they realized how badly they must have stuck out seeing everyone else was scandally dressed in studs and black leather. Elliot asked the bartender where Dent had gone. The bartender pointed to the back of the room.

Through the random flashes he could make out the flat top Dent was known to sport. The two walked toward him as they came in close enough to get his attention. "Jack Dent?" The recognizable face turned in the direction of his name. As soon as he connected the voice to the face Dent ran for the back of the club. Elliot high tailed it after him while Olivia headed for the front door. Elliot trailed him through the back kitchen. He had to catch himself at the sudden shift in bright light. He quickly recovered and headed out the back door after the suspect.

Once outside he was within feet of Dent. Elliot took a nose dive head first wrestling him to the ground. Olivia was quickly on top of him as well. Dent was not about to make it easy. Olivia grabbed hold of his arm as Elliot did his best to get him stable, but Dent managed to get his arm free. He back-handed Olivia across the face slamming her into the wall. Elliot in turn pushed him into the wall and managed to get a few punches to Dent's face and stomach with a final kick to his groin. He hit the ground like a ton of bricks. Olivia placed the handcuffs on him. Elliot noticed the blood dripping from Olivia's mouth. "You alright?" he asked. She nodded to him as she wiped the blood from her lip and grabbed Dent's arm again. Elliot grabbed the other arm and they both lifted him to his feet escorting him to the car.

Jack Dent sat in the interrogation room chair completely devoid of any obvious emotion. He seemed frozen off to the world with no luck of a quick thaw. Elliot and Olivia had taken turns trying to break him. Either this guy was stronger than them or just wasn't human. Five hours had gone by with absolutely nothing out of his mouth other than random obscenities. When the abuse Shondra had suffered was mentioned all he could do was smirk, but not response; no denial and no confession. Captain Cragen finally had the sense to break in to the session letting the detectives know that they were going to need an ID from the victim. This girl couldn't even talk let alone face down the man that had abused her, but there was no other way they could arrest him. The two partners took a second to discuss and decided that they needed a change of clothes to go visit Shondra. They both took off for the quick drive home.

Elliot came to the front door of his apartment. From outside he could make out the loud sounds of The Dave Matthews Band rumbling through the door. He was sure if he could hear it his neighbors were ready to go insane. This early in the morning nobody wanted to be awakened by someone else's sense of selfishness. He picked up the newspaper that was dropped on his doorstep, unlocked the bolt and walked inside. He began yelling for Chris, but there was no answer. He threw the paper onto the coffee table and headed into the bedroom. He took off his jacket flinging it onto the bed as he approached the bathroom door. How could she possibly find any comfort in listening to any music this loudly? It was ridiculous.

Elliot knocked on the door, but received no response. He knocked a second time louder with still no response. He realized there was no way he was going get any response if she couldn't hear him. He grabbed onto the door handle and cracked open the door. He peered through the tiny crack hoping to get her attention. What he saw sent his mind racing. He quickly closed the door and walked away without giving up any further attempts to get her attention over the loud music. He now had more important issues to deal with.

Thought after thought ran through his head. Who? Why? When? Question upon question piled up in his brain. The image of his sister now stuck in his head. Pictures of all the horrible sights he had ever heard of happening to a young girl now ran through his mind. Her face was now plastered on the face of every victim he ever encountered. He couldn't escape the sight. There she was, with her back to him, drying herself off and on her back were horrible purple and black bruises. Not small bruises, but long lines of marks all over. Bruises on her arms and around her wrists. What had she escaped? What was she hiding? Why didn't she tell him? Suddenly The Dave Matthews music was lost to the clouds building in his mind as he sat on his bed staring at the door that now separated him from the next SVU victim.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note; I don't own Law & Order: SVU._

Elliot's eyes were now stuck on the door ahead. He couldn't move. He couldn't stop the voices in his head. Emotions churned through out his body. He wanted to stand up and punch something, anything. Was she attacked? Did she get away from an abusive boyfriend? He wanted answers to silence the questions, but had none. He waited; waited for her to finally show herself. What was he going to say? How was he going to tell her he saw her? There was one thing he realized, if he didn't calm himself there was no way he could deal with this. He talked himself out of his anger. Maybe there was another explanation. Maybe she was in an accident and just didn't want to admit it. Anything could have happened. He needed to calm down before he could ask her.

Realizing how intimidating he must look right now, he knew he couldn't confront her as soon as she came out of the bathroom. If she was a victim, that would make her even more uncomfortable. He took a second to stand from the bed and walked into the living room. Seeing her bag beside the couch he picked it up and placed it on his bed. He shut the door behind him and headed to the kitchen. He needed coffee and figured it would be a good way to get his mind on something else. The music finally shut off with a jolt and his eyes turned to his bedroom door. He could hear the bathroom door open and some movement in the room. Soon he heard the sound of the coffee brewing behind him. Drip. Sizzle. Drip. Sizzle.

He stared at the door handle. Nothing. Each second that passed made his skin crawl. He had to stay calm. He had to stop the images. The door handle finally jiggled and out she stepped dressed in one of his long sleeve blue shirts and her jeans. She looked around coming to stop on his staring face. She jumped when she saw his eyes focused on her. She stared back at him. "I borrowed one of your shirts. I don't really have any right now. I need to go shopping." He tried his best to put a smile on his face when all he could see where those bruises. "That's fine. I'm making some coffee. Care to join me?"

This time positions were reversed. Chris now sat on the receiving side of the breakfast bar with Elliot as the server. He turned around grabbing two mugs from the cabinet. He placed one in front of her and put the other one on the counter. He grabbed the coffee pot from the machine and did his best to keeping his shaky hands calm. He poured her cup and then one for himself placing the pot back in its original position. "You alright?" she asked fairly sure she knew the answer. He continued trying to put on the normal face and keep a small smile going. He should have realized smiling was not his strong suit.

He didn't answer her question, but yet directed one to her, "I have short sleeve shirts, too." She nodded to him, "That's fine. I like long sleeves." He countered, "Well, it's a little warm in here. I think you'd be more comfortable in short sleeves." He watched as she became more agitated, but he was not about to back down. "Let me go get you one." "No," she exclaimed back, "It's cold outside and I'm going shopping later so I'm going to need some layers." Ah, she was good, but he was up to the challenge. Elliot grabbed her arm from beside the coffee mug, "Well then roll them up while you're in here at least. You're going to burn up." She tried to pull away from him, but he had a light, but firm grip on her hand. "What is your problem?" she yelled at him. He pushed the oversized sleeve up revealing the bruise on her wrist. The bruise he now got a much better look at and could now see the marks engrained within it. This wasn't a bruise. It was a rope burn.

"Elliot stop! What the hell is wrong with you?" she screamed at him as she pulled away much more forcefully finally freeing herself. "What is that mark on your wrist?" he asked back. She quickly shot up from the stool and pulled back from the bar. "That is none of your business. What are you nuts?" He let his emotions take over and became increasingly louder, "What is it, Christina?" She became very aggravated and he became very aggressive. She watched as his anger began to take him over and she became scared. Something flashed through her eyes and she jumped. Elliot could sense the fear in her movement and closed his eyes. He had to calm himself; she was not a suspect, she was a victim and he needed to be understanding. As he opened his eyes he watched her head for the door. He ran to block her way, "I'm sorry. Please don't leave. I didn't mean for it to come out like that. I'm scared Chris. I'm scared something happened to you and you didn't think you could tell me."

She pulled back from him, but as he calmed so did she. She turned her back to him, "How did you know?" she asked. Elliot collected his thoughts, but realized it would appear as if he was spying if he admitted that he saw her. "It doesn't matter how, just tell me what happened." "Things haven't changed. You still feel like you can pry into my life," she shot back at him. Elliot did his best you put on a soothing tone, "Please, tell me what happened." "No," she responded back very intent. "Christina!" anger began to slowly boil through him. "Why? So you can go hunt him down with all your SVU buddies? So you can make yourself the hero or so you can go do something stupid? I know you too well, Elliot."

He felt her words like a slap to the face. He knew she was right. The second she said a name he would be out the door trying to find him. No matter how bad he wanted answers he knew there was no way he was getting them. Why did she have to be as stubborn as he was? He took a seat on the couch and placed his head in his hands. He brought his tone down to a less intimidating volume. "Fine. Will you at least let me take you to get checked out?" He looked up to her with the softest expression he could get out. He truly was scared of what may have happened and the first thing he needed to do was make sure she was alright. He could deal with the details later.

She sat down beside him now mirroring his calm, solemn demeanor. "Okay," she softly stated. He looked to her and nodded his acceptance. "I'll get you a coat." He stood from the couch, walked into the bedroom and grabbed his coat from the bed. He walked out shutting the door behind him as he handed it to her. "What about you?" she asked. "I'll be fine," he stated back. He continued to stare down at his sister, sadness in his eyes, worried about what he may find out at the hospital. She wrapped herself in his jacket as they walked out the door. Elliot never even got a chance to change his clothes.

St. John's Memorial Hospital

Elliot stared straight ahead at the walls he had become so comfortable with since he entered SVU. The clean and bleached feel that never before bothered him was now smothering him with its sterility. He attempted to pick up one of the various magazines aligning the tables, but nothing could pull his attention away from the white walls. They were the perfect spring board for his thoughts. It was almost as if he used them as a projection screen for all the pictures running through his head. He had his own private viewing of the horror show playing in his mind with Chris playing the screaming victim running from the bloody axe murdered.

"Hey," a familiar voice called out behind him. He blacked out the pictures and turned to Olivia. She moved to take the seat next to him, "How is she?" Elliot returned his gaze to the wall, "I don't know. They're still looking at her." His agitation was very obvious and Olivia did her best to control her words, "Did she tell you anything?" He shook his head 'no.' "She won't talk to me about it." He could hear the concern in her voice, "Want me to try?" she asked. He nodded 'yes' to her. She stood from the chairs brushing her hand on his shoulder, she made her way down the hall.

The movie came back full force as he was once again alone. He didn't want to repeat it so he looked around for the remote to the TV he had initially turned off. He stood from his seat and began his quest. At least it was something to take his mind off of things. He looked under the chairs and around the side tables. The remote was nowhere to be found. He gave up and walked over to the wide screen pushing the on button. The sounds a CNN filled the tiny waiting room. He turned back to his chair as a feeling of annoyance took him over. There, in his seat, was the remote he had gotten down on all fours to find. It was as if it was laughing at him, taunting him because it stayed out of his grasp. He picked it up and threw it against the wall. The tiny remote shattered into a thousand little pieces.

"Elliot!" Olivia shouted from behind him. He turned around facing her and realized that not only had she witnessed his outburst, but so did the very alarmed nurse standing behind her. He let out a sigh as he reached for his back pocket. He pulled out twenty dollars and handed it to the nurse, "I'm sorry about that." She shook her head and exited the room. He stared at Olivia, too afraid to speak for fear that this overpowering anger will come through in his voice. "She's not ready to talk about it," she calmly stated to him. Though he had hoped she might he knew too well that no one was going to get her to say anything until she was ready. He nodded to her as he once again, sat down. Olivia continued to stand. "Shondra agreed to a line up. I'm taking her in now. You take Chris home. Munch and I can handle things."

He wanted to object. He wanted to reach out and say no. He wanted to feel some sense of control, but it was gone. He watched as she left him there alone. He just had to sit and wait. Waiting was not his strong suit. He let the sounds of the news cast fill his ears not really letting any one word stick. Anything to keep the sounds in his own head quiet. His eyes turned back to the white walls. He was now becoming numb. World News filled the room.

A hand came up behind him and he jerked around. "Sorry," Chris pulled her hand back from his shoulder. He took a deep breath and stood from the vinyl seat. "You ready?" he asked. She nodded to him and they silently walked to the car. They sat side by side on the ride, neither one sure of what to say to the other. Elliot had been sitting in silence in that hospital waiting room and he was tired of it. "They give you anything?" he asked. "Some pills for the pain and something to help me sleep." While he was glad she answered that wasn't actually what he was asking, "How about anything for," he paused unhappy with the fact that he had to broach the subject, "for a baby?"

She let a short breath, "Do I really need to answer that question, detective?" There it was, he had unintentionally hit a nerve and now he could hear it in her voice. "I wasn't prying. I'm worried and I wanted to know if they took care of everything." She seemed to become more frustrated, "No, you wanted to see if it was something I needed. Always the detective. I won't answer any direct questions so you are going to ask your way around them. Do you ever stop?" He shot back at her, "That's fine, I won't ask you anymore questions. We can live in your happy little world where we pretend that nothing happened because it make things easier than facing them, right? Always running. Do you ever stop?"

She turned her sight from him to the passenger side window. The wedge between them was constantly growing bigger. Why did she always have to make things difficult? He decided it was safer for him just to keep his eyes on the road in front of him. The apartment was only a few blocks away. They just had to ignore each other for a few more minutes and then they could put up real barriers. The walls in his apartment worked well for that.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note: I don't own Law & Order: SVU_

They pulled up to the apartment. Chris exited the car first and without looking back headed for the front door. Elliot locked up the car and made his way up behind her. She had obviously beaten him to the door of the apartment, but she didn't say a word as he came up behind her. He placed the key into the lock and pushed the door open. She walked in first approaching the breakfast bar. She removed the pill bottles from her pockets, took off the jacket and threw it on the stool. He shook his head as he let her put some distance between them. Beep. Beep. Beep.

He grabbed for his cell phone as she turned on the TV. He gave his normal greeting "Stabler." "Guess what little tip Dent fessed up to," Olivia blurted out as soon as he answered. "Olivia, I'm not really in a guessing game mood," he responded staring in Chris' direction. "Sorry," she stated, "After we told him Shondra had IDed him he told us a little story. Martin Pinhero found Shondra. Apparently he specializes in finding prostitutes with S&M fetishes." Elliot's thoughts were now quieted by this new information, "So Shondra isn't as innocent as she wants us to believe. What about Pinhero?"

"Dent gave a pager number so Munch and Finn gave it a little call. They should be picking him up shortly. I took Shondra back to the hospital. She's still in a lot of pain. She has security posted at her door. I still don't think what happened with her was consensual, working girl or not." "Hold off on Pinhero until I get there," he commanded. Olivia tried to add some reason "Elliot, this is taken care of. I really think you should…" but Elliot cut her off. "I'll be there in 20." Not waiting for a response he closed his phone and placed it on the coffee table in front of Chris as he caught her eye. She just stared blankly at him then returned her attention to the television.

He removed his attention from her and walked to his bedroom. He quickly changed in to the last clean suit he had and headed back to the living room. He noticed her trying to get comfortable on the couch, but she couldn't seem to sit still. He had noticed it the first day she was here, but he didn't really think anything about it. Now it made sense. No matter how angry he was that she was shutting him out, he still understood that she had gone through something horrible and he was going to do his best to help her.

He walked up to the bar and grabbed her pills. Reading the labels, the word Vicodin, jumped out at him. He walked over to the sink, pulled a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with water. He walked the bottle and the water over to the coffee table placing them in front of her where he knew it would get her attention. Without saying anything, a looked passed between them and she reached for the bottle. "Thanks," she said. At least now he finally felt like he did something right. He walked to the front door and turned back to her, "Try to take it easy." She just nodded to him as he shut the door to the apartment behind him.

When he arrived at the station he found Olivia gazing at the case file on her desk. He had to smile as he noticed how intently she seemed to be staring. He came around to his desk and placed his jacket on the back of his chair. "Any word about Pinhero?" he asked breaking her concentration as well as sending her into a state of alarm. She jumped and then settled down, "Don't sneak up on me like that." He shook his head, "I didn't think walking to my desk was sneaking." She smiled at him, "How's Chris?" He lost his friendly demeanor in response to the question, "Still not talking. What about Pinhero?" He made it very clear it wasn't a subject he was really interested in tackling so she let it slide. "Finn just called, they picked him up outside the club. They should be in any time."

Before she could finish the sentence the front doors burst open. In walked Pinhero, greasy as ever, with Finn and Munch close behind. For fear that he might get a whiff of the foul odor radiating off of their greasy friend he pointed in the direction of the interrogation room. Finn pushed Pinhero towards the back room as Munch kept a decent distance. Elliot looked over at Olivia, "You think he'd be offended if we walked in with a can of air freshener?" Olivia just raised her eyebrow as she rose from her chair. "Come on," she said.

As they came to the first set of doors, Munch was heading out, "He's all yours," he added as he tried to get as far from the room as he could get. Olivia and Elliot held their breath as they made their way through the second set of doors. Finn quickly got up without breaking his cool and walked out, but Elliot could hear the intake of a deep breath as he walked out. It was time to put on a game face and at least pretend they had no fear of being in that room with him. Olivia started, "So Mr. Pinhero, we hear you have a thing for beautiful girls." He looked up at Olivia, the fear evident in his face, "What man doesn't?" he asked. Elliot interjected, "See, but with you, its girls who get into the S&M kick. Jack Dent told us you know where to get a girl like that for a price." He shook his head, "I don't know what he's talking about."

It was Olivia's turn to add a question, "Really? Well, we hear differently and I figured you would want to know that if we find another girl in the same situation as Shondra Wallace, mounted to someone's wall, we're going to come calling on you. See, right now, you're an accessory to assault, but what about the next girl things go bad with? What happens when you become accessory to murder?" The ping pong of questions was having it affects. The fear in Pinhero's face deepened with every question, "You know it will happen and you know who we'll come looking for," Elliot added. This shook him, "I have nothing to do with what happens to those girls. They sign up to do the business, I just find them clients," he stated, his lip beginning to quiver. "You just happen to find these girls walking the streets?" Elliot questioned. "No," Pinhero yelled, "they all work for one man. Rubin Marcus. He recruits them. I go to him, tell him I need a girl and within an hour I'm dropping her off." Olivia's turn again, "So, this Marcus is pimping out bondage prostitutes?" Pinhero nodded.

Olivia and Elliot finally exited the room. Now they had a solid lead into a possible human trafficking situation. Bondage play for money was not the normal prostitution ring. Besides picking Marcus up they now needed to do some serious research. Who's to say this doesn't go back before Shondra and no one ever made the connection? Olivia hit the computer as Elliot started digging through some of their more recent paper files. "Elliot," a groggy voice called out from the back of the station. Elliot turned around putting Chris in his sights, "What are you doing here?" he asked as he walked up to her helping her steady. She held up her hand revealing his cell phone, "You forgot this on the table and I tried to call. You're out of juice." The whole squad watched as he led his loopy sister to Olivia's chair. He helped her sit down.

"How did you get here?" he asked. "I took a cab," she replied with drowsy tone. "Chris, you should be asleep," he spoke shaking his head. Olivia gave him a confused look as he mouthed the word 'vicodin' to her. She nodded understanding that Chris was feeling the effects of the heavy pain medications she was on. Elliot knelt down beside her taking the cell phone from her hand. From behind, Elliot didn't notice that Pinhero was being moved from the interrogation room to lock up. As he was about to continue to scold Chris her reaction caught his attention.

Her eyes were dead set ahead and he turned up to find her staring at Pinhero. Pinhero's eyes shifted down to her as she tried to now shift her eyes away. "Hey," Pinhero remarked, "Chrissy. How'd they get you in here so fast?" Elliot stood up as he realized what Pinhero had just said. He looked down at his cringing sibling and back at Martin Pinhero. As the confusion finally wore off, he looked down at Chris putting together the significance of that unexpected meeting. The bruises on her back. The rope burns. The secrecy. It all made sense now.

Elliot stood lost in his thoughts as Olivia approached the two. "Chris, is there something you want to tell us?" She shook her head. Elliot retrieved his wits and looked down at her, "You're going to be telling us how you know him." She looked into his eyes ready to make any snide comment she could think of, but one didn't come. This was serious and she was caught. All eyes were on her and there was no running anymore. Chris looked up at Olivia as Elliot continued to glare at her. Image upon image ran through his mind. Questions continued to pile up and now he wasn't sure if he should feel anger or guilt. "I'll talk," Chris stated, "but only to Olivia."


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: I don't own Law & Order: SVU._

The two women sat cautiously across from each other in the dank cold room. Neither spoke or made a move for the first few minutes alone. This was certainly an awkward situation, but there was no way of avoiding it now. Chris had become very cold and it wasn't a reaction Elliot was used to coming from his only sister. The fact now was, she wasn't his sister, she was a suspect and this wasn't just going to go away.

Olivia finally spoke up, "Why don't you tell me about Rubin Marcus?" Chris' gaze shifted from the wall to the table as she placed her hands together in front of her. It was very obvious that her drowsy façade had worn off and she was now very sober. "Where do you want me to start?" she continued to keep her eyes on the table. "Where ever you think is relevant," Olivia responded. Chris just nodded as she began her story, "A year and a half ago I began working the streets. Things had gotten hard and I needed the money. Rubin was one of my first clients. The night he picked me up, he took me out to a fancy dinner and treated me like a lady. None of the other guys ever did that. The night was incredible and that morning when I went to leave he asked if I would be interested in working for him permanently. I told him I wasn't interested in having a pimp. He told me it wouldn't be like that, I would be working for him and only him. Made it sound like a real 'Pretty Woman' scenario."

Chris paused as she began coughing. The coughs were really raspy and when she could catch it she managed to ask for a cup of water. Olivia stood up and headed to the door. An unidentified hand protruded from behind the door holding out a bottle of water. She put it on the table in front of Chris who snatched it up and took a sip. This calmed down the coughing. "Must be the medicine, it's making my throat dry," she stated. Olivia nodded and motioned for her to continue her story. Chris took a second and began again, "Everyday for a week he came around. Took me out, paid the big money to wine and dine me. I thought I was falling in love. For 6 months I had lived out of dumpsters and this guy wanted to come sweep me off my feet. I finally said yes."

She took a deep breath and again paused taking a sip of her water. "That night he took me home and we 'celebrated.' He told me he had a special room prepared just for me. So we went down to the basement. The basement? You would think that would have sent off the bells, but nope. I truly was a moron. I got 2 steps down and he pushed me. I'm sure there was some dramatic spill down the stairs, but I wouldn't know, I was out cold before I hit the concrete. When I woke up I was chained to the wall completely naked with a dog collar on. The first few weeks were training and after that, if I obeyed he would let me walk around the house." Olivia interrupted, "What do you mean by training?"

Chris shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "Training? Let's see. No using the bathroom without his permission. No shower. Getting hit if I didn't call him master. Sex whenever and however he wanted it. When he was convinced I was truly his I was allowed to come out. Eventually I became his maid and cook on top of his punching bag. Anyway, hanging around upstairs I would hear conversations. You would be amazed how many girls Marcus pulled that same scam on and then sold them out. Funny thing was, he never 'sold' me out." Olivia had to interrupt again, "Sold out?"

"Yea," she stated. "As in to the highest bidder. Slaves. I guess I kept on his good side. I did everything that bastard ever asked. The one time I did try to get away he beat the crap out of me and left me chained to the wall for a week. I got water and a vitamin pill once a day. He told me if I was ever lucky enough to get away no one would ever listen to a hooker. I deserved everything he gave me. He had me so backwards I believed him." She continued to keep her eyes glued to the table as she took another sip of the water. As the story went on she seemed to become more and more cold.

"Tell me about Martin Pinhero." Chris nodded, "He's Rubin's lap dog. Marcus apparently got this great idea a few months ago to rent out girls. Him and his buddies decided that they could get a return on their investments more so than just personal pleasure. Pinhero would hit up the clubs and Marcus would put out the orders. If there were any takers Pinhero would pick the girl up and bring to her wherever. Once the guy was done, they were brought back to their master."

Olivia's expression changed and it seemed as if she truly didn't want to ask the next question. "Where you ever a part of that?" This finally seemed to break Chris' cold exterior. A tear escaped her eye as she nodded, "Two weeks ago. You know, Rubin promised me that I was worth way too much to him to ever rent me out. Apparently everybody has a price and mine was 50 grand. Marcus even drove me himself. When I got there, 5 guys were waiting. I guess it was a bachelor party or something. Marcus said he would be back by midnight and off he went. These idiots took their turns screwing and beating me then got so drunk they forgot I was even there. I grabbed some clothes and headed out the fire escape." Olivia questioned, "And you haven't seen Marcus since?"

Chris brushed the tears from her eyes, "He would kill me if he ever found me. Luckily, he isn't very bright." "Do you know where we can find him?" Olivia questioned. "If he caught wind of Pinhero getting arrested then he's gone. Mentioned something about a place outside the city, but I have no idea where. What happens now?" Olivia looked her straight in the eyes, "We need to talk to the ADA and see what she thinks." Chris nodded back to her, took a sip of her water and turned to the mirror on the wall of the room. She yelled at the wall, "Is that what you wanted to hear, Elliot? Does it make you feel better knowing?"

Elliot peered back through the one sided mirror at his lost and crying sister. It took everything he had not to throw his first right through it. The images of everything she had gone through. The bruises and marks she had from her last encounter. Five men had used and abused her and got drunk and forgot about her. This wasn't just one of his victims, someone he met along the way. This was his flesh and blood. He changed her diapers, he read her stories, and he watched her graduate. This was someone he thought he knew everything about and realized he had no idea who she really was.

Elliot caught the Captain watching him through the corner of his eye. He kept his attention dead ahead. He didn't want Cragen seeing how angry he truly was. Olivia stepped into the tiny room. She too was trying to gauge Elliot's reaction. "We need to call Casey." Elliot nodded, "We need to talk to Pinhero again. I bet any amount of money he knows where Marcus is." The Captain pointed to Olivia, "You and Munch talk to Pinhero. Elliot, you call Novak." Elliot attempted to interrupt, "Captain, I think I can handle talking to Pinhero." Cragen shook his head, "No. You worry about Chris right now. Olivia and Munch can handle the case." Elliot was now becoming frustrated, "Captain…" Cragen responded, "Don't push it. I would be sending you home right now if she wasn't here. This is not something you need to be dealing with. Your sister is more important and she needs you right now. This isn't negotiable."

Elliot turned his attention from the Captain to his sister as he peered through the glass. Olivia nodded to the Captain and headed out to find Munch. Captain Cragen looked over to Elliot. "Call Casey," is all he said as he too walked out the door. Elliot kept his eyes stuck on her. He watched her get up and walk around the room with the empty water bottle in her hand. She looked as lost as he now felt. She wandered over to the barred window and stared out. He wondered if she actually saw anything or if it was just some place else to look out in hopes that she could disappear from the room. He knew exactly how that felt.

He walked to the door and motioned out to a passing officer. "Can you just sit in here and watch her? I need to make a call," he asked. The blonde officer agreed as Elliot walked out of the tiny dark room. He kept his focus straight ahead. He was aware of the eyes now piercing through him, but did his best to ignore them. He was also aware of Olivia cruising by his desk with Pinhero right in front. He didn't let his sights leave the phone. "I'm calling for ADA Novak."

Once the call was complete he walked over to the coffee pot and poured a cup. He made his way back to the room relieving the officer standing guard. He again, continued to stare at her. She seemed to be even more fidgety and started walking faster back and forth. As she turned to peer at the mirror he caught the look of fear in her eyes and knew he couldn't let her sit in there alone. He had to push his resentment away and face her.

He walked in as she stared at him. He placed the mug down in front of her. "Am I under arrest?" she asked. "No," he simply stated. "Then why am I still here?" she continued her trek back and forth. "We have to talk to the Assistant District Attorney." Chris nodded to him. "Can you sit down please?" he asked. He watched as she took a few more steps, but finally took the seat in front of the coffee he had poured for her. Silence filled the room as they both did their best to keep their attention off of the other. Elliot wasn't sure of what was floating through her mind, but he definitely knew that if he let out what was on his one of them would be on a stretcher when it was all over. She was a hooker? A hooker? Why didn't she come to him? Why didn't he look for her? What about the postcards?

She looked up at him, "What about them?" He looked up hearing her question. He hadn't realized that he actually asked the last question out loud. The look of bewilderment must have been evident as she repeated the question, "What about the postcards?" He shook off his reaction, "Why did you send them?" She sighed and let out a little smirk, "Those cards were Rubin's idea. He figured if I wrote to my family then they wouldn't come looking. Obviously he was right" Silence over took the room as she took a sip of the coffee. She got tired of waiting, "Why don't you ask me what you really want to ask, Elliot?"

He shook his head and stared at her. "Come on. I know you have that one burning question. Why don't you just get it off your chest?" He shook his head, "If this is some sort of game, Chris, I'm not playing." "Fine," she stated, "I'll ask for you." She stood up from her chair and placing her hands on the table in front of her, stared right at him as she seemed to switch rolls taking the pose of the interrogator, "How could I let this happen?" He looked up at her, "I wasn't going to ask that." "Why not?" she shot back at him, "I know you want to. I can see it in your face. You didn't have any problems asking me that question before, why is it such a hard question to ask now?" He stood up from his chair, "Chris, don't start this," he stated.

"Come on, ask me. How did I become a whore?" she stared at him as he returned the stare. "Fine, that's what I want to know. How did you become a hooker?" She smiled at him, "See, that wasn't so hard. Let's just say I did what I'm good at doing. I screwed up and I took the easy way out. I couldn't call my big brother the detective because I was too afraid he would judge me like he always does. I couldn't cut it in the Army and now I couldn't cut it in the big city. I'm worthless, isn't that what you said?" He shook his head, their argument from 2 years ago replaying itself in front of him, "I never said that." She took a step toward him, "You mine as well have," she shot back. "Chris, don't put words in my mouth!" he yelled back at her taking a step toward her. She took another step toward him now placing herself within a foot of his body and shouted, "Just say it. I'm a worthless whore." He clenched his fist, "Damn it, Christina."

The door came pushing out pulling both of them off guard. They drew apart as Captain Cragen poked his head in the door, "Elliot, outside." Elliot moved toward the door without thinking twice. He was glad someone had the sense to interrupt. As he entered the tiny room he found Casey waiting. She must have watched the entire exchange from the look she was pushing in his direction. She didn't wait for the question, "If she agrees to testify we won't bring charges. If Rubin Marcus is running some sort of sex slave ring, I want him." "She'll testify," Elliot calmly stated. "Good," With that she turned her attention away from the two men and headed out the door.

Out from behind her Olivia crossed through the door. "He won't talk," she stated the look of defeat apparent on her face. The anger left over from his encounter with Chris still hitting him hard, "Let me talk to him. I'm sure I can get it out." Captain Cragen made sure to get his attention by grabbing his arm, "You're taking Chris home and you're staying with her until this is over. You are going nowhere near this case, Elliot and I suggest you two take this time to get some counseling. I know she's going to need it and there is no doubt in my mind that so are you." Elliot looked to Olivia and back at the Captain. He nodded as he calmed down realizing he was in no state to really talk to anyone. He took a deep breath and released it.

He looked back at Olivia, "Could you take her to my car? I need to get some fresh air before I drive home." She nodded her agreement as he stepped out of the room. He grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and walked out of the station. He sat on the steps outside taking in everything that had happened in the past few days. His world just kept beating down on him and all he wanted to do was blame himself.

He heard the door swing open behind him as he watched Olivia and Chris walk out. Chris met his eyes and something about them actually soothed him. The picture of his baby sister throwing him that cute smile flashed through his head. He took one more deep breath and stood up from the steps. He walked over to the driver's side door and unlocked the car. Chris stepped in and sat down as Elliot turned over the ignition. Olivia shut the door as she sat down and turned her back to the car. As he pressed on the gas Chris looked over at him and with one loud, gut wrenching sigh said, "I'm sorry." He nodded back to her, "Me too." They both turned their attention to the front window as they sped toward the apartment.


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's Note: I don't own Law & Order: SVU._

As he flipped the switch Elliot realized he had not spent this much time in his apartment in months. Chris snuck by him taking her normal veggie position on the couch as he threw his keys onto the bar. He turned his attention to her as she grabbed the remote, "You know, I don't ever remember you being this much of a couch potato." She looked up at him with a sadness in her eyes, "Haven't really gotten a chance to watch much TV in a long while. Gotta catch up with all the new shows." She turned her attention back to the television as he let the words sink in.

He truly was sorry for blowing up at her at the station and even more sorry for blowing up at her all those years ago. He couldn't help but think that if he hadn't tried to play protective older brother then he would have been around to actually protect her from everything he encountered on a daily basis. "What?" she asked. He snapped himself out of his thoughts, "Nothing," he replied realizing he must have been staring. "I'm going to go change. What do you say we watch a movie tonight? I know I have some microwave popcorn up in the cupboard." She raised her eyebrow to him, "Are you trying to have a bonding moment with me?" He had to laugh at her. Through everything she never lost her sarcastic wit. "Call it what you want," he responded, "but I don't think either one of us are going to get a lot of sleep tonight." She nodded to him as he pointed to the microwave.

He walked into his bedroom and closed the door. He tried to keep his focus on one thing at a time. He grabbed a pair of sweats from his hamper and a t-shirt. He switched out of his suit for the more comfortable attire. Soon, he could make out the sounds of the kernels popping in the microwave. He needed any little distraction to keep him from thinking about her voice earlier today. Anything to block out the urge to go run down Rubin Marcus and anything to keep him from looking at his sister like a common whore.

He walked out of his room, "Anything good on?" he asked. She nodded to him, "Yup, Friday the 13th." He shook his head and asked with a grin, "You really want to watch a horror movie?" "Yes," she said. "In some weird sadistic way, they make me feel better. Besides, it's a Kevin Bacon classic." Beep. They both went to stand up, but he caught her leg and motioned for her to sit. He went to the cupboard and pulled out a bowl as he pushed the open button on the microwave. He pulled open the bag being sure to keep his face clear of the steam steadily rising from it. As it dissipated he dumped the full bag into the bowl. He grabbed salt from beside the bowl and headed back into the living room making himself comfortable beside her.

He placed the bowl down between them and the salt on the table as he focused on the TV. The sounds of screaming and random horrifying music filled his ears and for that moment it was just him and her. It was as if he just came home from hanging out with his friends to find his nine year old sister, who happened to sneak downstairs after bed time, watching the late show in the living room. He remembered thinking how independent she was then and looked over at his twenty six year old little sister now. She still had that way about her that demanded everyone's respect, but he still had that need to watch over her. He used to sit up then and watch whatever she wanted. He would even cover for her if they were caught staying up late. He watched as she grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bowl in between them and tried to put it into her mouth. These were the moments he was missing in his life.

She grabbed another handful with her eyes glued to the TV. "Chris, can I ask you a question?" She dropped her hand and he could sense the shift her in mood. "I knew this Kodak moment wasn't going to last long," she stated. "What happened?" he asked. "Elliot," she began to protest but was quickly interrupted. "I'm not asking as a detective. I'm asking as a friend." She turned her attention to the side table, "I told you what happened." He shook his head and moved from the couch beside her to the coffee table placing himself in front of her, "No, before that. What happened when you left?" She took in a deep breath and he watched as she brought her hands to her eyes rubbing them deeply. This was one of the 'tells' she never learned to hide when she got nervous.

A second passed before she decided that she mine as well get it off her chest. "When I got out of the Army I thought I was invincible. I got shot at everyday and I walked away without a scratch. I watched my battle buddies take bullets and not once did I end up in the infirmary. I thought I was queen of the world and I could control anything; how tough could the city be? What I realized was that the Army had one thing up on the streets of New York; you have battle buddies to take the bullets for you. In New York City no one gives a damn about you."

She shifted her sights to him, "I took odd jobs and bounced from hotel to hotel trying to find my calling. That calling never came and neither did any money. I was out on my butt and broke so I was living from dumpster to dumpster. No one wanted to hire a homeless girl. Hell, you can't even get welfare without an address, so I was stuck. I noticed the girls on the corner didn't have a problem with money and they were eating good food and staying clean. I was so tired of smelling and being hungry all the time, I thought becoming a hooker was a way to control things. I didn't plan on being one forever, just until I saved up some money. I even thought about trying school. Well, you know how that ended up."

"You could have come to me," he softly stated. "No I couldn't. After the fight I had something to prove. I wanted to prove that I didn't need some plan for my life; that I could fly by night and get by. When I was a kid I wanted to be just like you, Elliot and when I got out of the military I wanted to be nothing like you. I hated that life. I hated the ass kissing and having to give a crap if my insignia was straight while I had twenty Iraqi's shooting A-Ks at me. That was your life. You were the big bad Marine. That just wasn't me. If I had come back I would have had to admit that my way didn't work. I sure as hell wasn't ready to give you the satisfaction." He sat in silence staring at his palms. She surveyed his face for any reaction. He was completely unsure of what he wanted to say. He already had guilt over everything that had happened and now she confirmed that she blamed him for it.

He finally looked up at her, "I'm sorry I made you feel like I was constantly judging you." Her laugh caught his attention and now he felt confusion over her reaction to his heartfelt confession. "Elliot, I don't need any apology. I don't blame you. I made those choices. Right or wrong, I have to deal with them, but you know what? I walked away. In my life I have faced down bullets and I have faced down beatings and I'm still here. Maybe I truly am invincible." He shook his head and laughed at her. After everything she had been through and to be as strong as she is, "You truly amaze me." She patted him on the shoulder, "You know, I amaze myself. Now are we done with the heart to heart because Mrs. Voorhees is about to shove an knife through some guy's chest and I really want to watch?" She sat back turning her gaze to the screen.

He moved back to his spot on the couch and watched the gory scene play out. He could not understand why watching this could possibly make anyone feel better. He felt the couch shift under him and turned his attention back to her. She continued to shift in her seat trying to get comfortable. The pain medication must be wearing off. He got up from the couch walking over to the bar. He grabbed the Vicodin bottle and tossed it at her. She picked it up from her lap, "No, I'm fine."

"You're not fine. You can't even sit still," he replied. He walked over to the cupboard as she responded, "If I take these I'm going to fall asleep. I want to watch the end of the movie." He shook his head as he reached for a glass and then headed to the refrigerator, "How many times have you seen this movie? You aren't going to miss anything. You need the sleep." He looked into the fridge, "We forgot the juice." Chris laughed at him as he placed the glass under the running water that was now escaping the kitchen sink faucet, "You mean I spilled my guts and I get no juice?" she questioned.

He shut off the sink and approached handing her the glass, "Sorry," he shrugged. She popped open the bottle and threw down a couple of pills chasing it with the water. She sat back as the two became entranced by the movie. Twenty minutes passed and it was finally over. As the credits rolled Elliot looked over at Chris who was now fast asleep slumped over the headrest to her right. He picked up the popcorn bowl from between them and placed it on the coffee table. He walked over to the TV and pressed the power button then walked over to her. He pushed her legs on to the couch and tried to even out her body. She was completely out cold not responding to any of his movements. He pulled the blanket down over her and headed to his own bed. His head hit the pillow and he closed his eyes. The world quickly disappeared.

Elliot eyes flew open as the loud scream filled the apartment. Instinctively he jolted to his side table removing the revolver from the small drawer. He leapt up from the bed and grabbed onto the door. 1,2,3. He pulled open the door and pointed the gun into the darkness. "Chris" he yelled as he grabbed for the light switch beside him. He could make out the soft sobs coming from the couch. He flipped on the switch. There she was, tears streaming down her face, now in shock as she stared down the barrel of his pistol. He dropped the gun as he ran to her side, "You alright?" he asked. She shook him off, "Just a bad dream. I'm fine." He continued to watch her eyes as they shifted through the room. Something had her scared. "You sure?" he re-iterated the question. She nodded to him and as her breathing calmed so did he.

He walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a paper towel. Before walking it over to her he quickly took the pistol into his room and placed it on the bed. "Where do you keep that thing?" she asked as she wiped the tears from her face. "Don't worry about it. You need to go back to sleep," he began to wipe the sand from his eyes. "I can't," she softly stated keeping her eyes ahead of her. He recognized the fearful expression that shot across her face. It was the same expression he noticed earlier in the interrogation room. She wasn't as okay as she wanted everyone to believe. He again took a seat on the coffee table in front of her. "Chris, maybe you need to talk to someone. I have a friend I know could help." She shook her head, "No way. I don't want to have to re-live any of it again. I just want to move on."

He tried speaking in a calming tone, "You're going to have to talk to someone. You have to testify against Marcus." Her eyes grew wide as she stared him down, "What? I'm not testifying." That was not what he wanted to hear. He truly wanted to be understanding, but this was something she had no choice over. He stood from the table, "You have to testify. That's the only way you stay out of jail and we put Marcus away." She threw the blanket off of her legs and stood up in front of him, "I never agreed to that. You think I want to sit in front of a jury and admit what I let him do to me? It's bad enough I had to admit it to you and Olivia. It's bad enough that I have to live with it. There is no way I'm letting twelve strangers sit on their little pedestals and judge me," she allowed her frustration to take her over as she raised her voice. Elliot allowed his anger to cover his concern as he too began yelling, "This isn't debatable. You're testifying against that scum bag. Do you really want to go to jail for him?" She shot back, "This isn't about him; it's about you. You want to be the big hero. You want to swoop in and save the day. Another case solved. Can you not be a cop for once?"

He listened to her words and couldn't understand how she truly didn't see what he was trying to do. He had to make her understand. "This isn't about me. It's about you. You don't want to admit it, but I know you're scared. You need to face this and stop trying to cover it with a smile. I love you, Chris. Let me help you." She shook her head as her tone became less aggressive, "You can't help me. You can't even deal with your own problems. You can't take it back and you can't protect me from what's in my head just like I can't protect you from what is in yours. What happened between you and Kathy?" Elliot quickly cut off all emotion and stared at her, "I'm not talking about that, Chris."

She shook her head, "Exactly. We both run from our problems, Elliot, so stop trying to ignore yours by solving mine. You can't save me from what happened. I have to deal with this my own way."

The room became silent. The two siblings taking a different corner as they each attempted to calm themselves down. Neither one was ready to back down, but neither one wanted to continue the fight. Elliot turned his back to her as he began yawning. Chris was the first to speak, "Go back to bed," she stated. "No, we need to deal with this now," he replied back. She tried to take the common sense approach, "We aren't going to solve anything tonight and my back is starting to hurt. We can deal with it tomorrow." He turned to the kitchen, "I'll get you a glass of water." Her frustration once again became evident in her voice, "No. I'm a big girl now, I can get my own water. If I need you, you are two steps away. Go back to bed. We can settle this in the morning."

He wanted to argue, but the adrenaline that was keeping him awake was no longer surging through him. He yawned once again and this time he couldn't hide it. She was right. He was only a door away. He couldn't believe he was about to give in, but his bed was calling him and he didn't have the energy left to continue the fight. "I can stay up if you need me," he stated still trying to be the good big brother. "I'm really not in the mood to yell at you. Once I take the pills I'll be out. Go." She gave him the evil eye as he turned to reply, but gave up as she walked toward the kitchen. He took one last deep breath and headed to his door.

As the sounds of the rushing water became clear he walked into his room and closed the door. He picked his revolver up from the bed and placed it back in his night table. He sat on the bed and stared out the window at the street below. There was nothing out there, no cars passing, no one yelling, just complete calm. Maybe it was a sign that he too should go back to the calm world of slumber. He laid back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. The projection screen appeared as the images played out on the ceiling above. He wanted to yell, he wanted to cry, he just wanted them to stop, but he was too tired to fight back. He began to breath slowly letting the calm over take him. Soon he found the soothing sensation the darkness cast over him.

Beep. Beep. Beep. He rolled over smacking his alarm clock's obnoxious disturbance away. He had forgotten to turn it off before he fell asleep last night. He opened his eyes trying to push the grogginess away. It was way too early to be up after the long night. The normal morning sensation took him over and he headed to the bathroom to relieve himself. Still extremely drowsy he exited the bathroom and sat on his bed. He wanted to go back to sleep, but got the aching feeling to check on Chris. Hopefully she hadn't heard the alarm clock and was still fast asleep. He didn't hear any movement. He stood up and peaked out the door. He squinted attempting to see through the darkness covering the room. "Chris?" he whispered. He received no response. He didn't want to intentionally wake her if she was still asleep, but he didn't feel like walking all the way over to the couch. He flipped on the light switch. He was now instantly blasted awake.

The couch was empty. He walked to the front door opening it and looking outside. She was nowhere to be found. He turned back to the living room, inspecting it. The blanket was neatly folded on the back of the couch and her bag was gone. He quickly walked back into his room approaching his cell phone sitting on the bedside table. He sat on the bed as he dialed. The phone rang in his ear and a thought finally dawned on him. A voice greeted him from the other end as he opened up the drawer to his nightstand and peered in. He answered the voice, "Olivia, Chris is gone," and so was his gun.


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's Note: I don't own Law & Order: SVU._

Martin Pinhero slammed up hard against the interrogation room wall. A pair of gruff hands pulled him by the collar and pushed him against the parallel wall and then smacked right into his face. Pinhero fell to the floor as Elliot towered over him looking down, "I'm not going to beat around the bush. You tell me where Marcus is." Pinhero peered up at the obviously enraged man above him. While it was clear he was afraid Elliot wasn't sure if it was directed at him or Marcus. Either way, he was going to make it a point to show him that if he didn't talk, he wasn't walking away from this.

Elliot picked him up by his collar and threw him into one of the two chairs that furnished the room. "Make no mistake, I will kill you," Elliot exclaimed very coldly. "Marcus will kill me," Pinhero shot back. Elliot's anger just increased with his response, "I'll do it, right here right now and I will do it slow. You tell me where Marcus is." Pinhero stayed quiet, but as Elliot stood up motioning that he was going to hit him again he responded, "I thought Chrissy would have told you." Elliot stopped mid swing and stared at him. "Why would she know?" he asked. Pinhero once again went quiet. Elliot took a second and finished the earlier smack to his face.

"Elliot, stop!" Olivia came barging into the room. "He knows something about Chris and now he decides to clam up. He's going to talk or so help me," he motioned as if he was going to strike again, but Olivia grabbed his hand. "You need to calm down. We will find her, but not like this." He turned his cold stare to her then pulled his hand away. Olivia took over the questioning as Elliot stood in the corner trying to calm himself. "Mr. Pinhero, I suggest you start talking now or I might just have to let him step back in and if I do, I'll be leaving the room. You have one shot. Tell me what you know about Chris and Marcus," she stated to him. Pinhero sized Elliot up and then turned his attention back to Olivia.

"Marcus was keeping Chris out at his place in the country. He figured she would be less of a distraction if she was gone for a while. Having her around made him nervous," he began. "Why?" Olivia interrupted him. "Aren't most guys nervous when they're gonna have a baby?" Elliot's eyes widened in response to Pinhero's revelation. A baby? She was going to have a baby and she didn't tell him. "She was pregnant?" Olivia asked. "Yes. Marcus figured it was better for her out there until the baby was born." Elliot walked up to the table, "Where's the baby now?" he asked. Pinhero looked up at him and didn't respond. Elliot had no patience left.

He abruptly walked to Pinhero and slapped him across the back of the head. "That jog your memory?" he asked. Pinhero cringed in his seat. Olivia stood up, "Elliot." Pinhero finally answered, "I don't know. The last I saw her was a couple of weeks ago. She hadn't had the kid yet." Elliot backed off as Olivia shot another question at him, "When was the last time you saw her?" He shook his head, "I'm don't know the exact day, but she was really upset. I couldn't blame her though. I begged him not to make her do it." Olivia approached him, "Do what?"

Pinhero got silent again, but opened up real quick as Elliot approached him. "Some group of rich jerks with a pregnancy fetish bought her for $50,000. I told Marcus that I wasn't going to help him risk his own kid's life. He didn't care. He took her anyway. That was the last time I saw her." Elliot turned his back to him as he took in a deep breath. Picture upon picture flew through his mind. She was pregnant and he sold her to the highest bidder. How could she possibly walk away after all of that? Beaten, bloody and pregnant walking alone through the streets of New York with no one even looking twice. He let a tear escape his eye, but quickly wiped it away. Olivia gazed over at Elliot as he turned out of view. "Where is this house he kept her at?" she finally asked. Pinhero peered up at her spitting out the address.

Olivia took Pinhero back to his holding cell as Elliot sat down at his desk. Why hadn't she told him about the baby? Why keep this one secret when everything else had already come out? The answer finally hit him. Olivia approached from behind knocking him out of his thoughts, "We need to call Cragen." Elliot shook his head 'no.' "Elliot, we don't have a choice. You know as well as I do that she is out for revenge. She took your gun for a reason. She lied to us about not knowing where this house was. She conveniently left out the baby."

"I know," he cut her off. "She been playing me this entire time Olivia, but why? Where's the baby? What if he has it? We call Cragen and S.W.A.T. becomes part of this. If things get out of control they could both get hurt. I can talk her down." She stared down at him, "And what if he's already dead? She's going to jail either way, Elliot." He shook his head losing himself again in his thoughts, "He's not dead, yet. If she didn't want us to find them she wouldn't even have mentioned the place to begin with. Like I said, she's been playing me from the beginning. She knew exactly what she was doing when she came looking for me."

Olivia had to ask, "You think she was using you?" Elliot shook his head, "No, I think she knew she was at her breaking point. She came to me for help. She made it a point to ask about my gun. She knew we would come looking to Pinhero. She's leading us to them." "I hope you're right, Elliot, because if your not someone's going to end up dead." He stood up from his desk and grabbed his jacket, "I know I'm right." They both exited the station.

The drive to the country was long and drawn out. Olivia drove afraid Elliot's heavy foot would take him over and they would never make it to the scene. Not many words passed between the two. Elliot kept his focus straight ahead, staring at every light they passed. He had even begun counting them just to keep his thoughts from slamming into the image of the poor pregnant girl half alive walking through the back alleys of the dirtiest city on the planet. He did whatever he could to get the horrifying pictures of a blood covered infant now trapped with the man that had put her through so much torture and torment. 11, 12, 13.

They turned onto Hollister Street. Olivia scanned the houses for any signs of numbers either on the mailboxes or the front door. Elliot spotted the dingy brown house poking out from the rest of the nicer homes. It had to be Marcus' place. While all the other yards in the neighborhood were neatly trimmed and clean looking, this yard had knee long grass and trash flung all through it. Talk about leaving a "scum bag lives here" sign for all to see.

Olivia pulled around to a side street and quickly parked the car. They both cautiously stepped out surveying their surroundings. They found a hole in the side chain link fence and pushed through it so they wouldn't be seen coming up the front yard. The two partners waded their way through the tall grass and weeds. Olivia jumped onto the front porch and crawled below the window pane. Elliot followed close behind. The two approached the door taking their positions on opposite sides of the doorway. Olivia knocked on the door, "Police. Open up." They received no answer.

This time Elliot slammed his hand into the door knocking as loud as possible. "Chris, if your in there. Open the door." They again received no response. It was time to go in. Elliot positioned himself in front of the wooden barrier and bracing onto the sides he aimed his foot for the center. The door violently swung open breaking from the dead bolt. "Chris," he yelled. "Christina, talk to me." There was no sound and he began to fear that maybe Olivia was right, maybe Marcus was already dead.

The two slowly moved through out the house making sure to clear all the rooms. He was hoping they might find any signs of a possibly baby having been there, but that hope faded with each room. There is no way a baby wouldn't have started crying the second they busted in that door. They swept through five rooms before they came to the last door of the house. Elliot knocked, "Chris. Open the door, please." Still no response. He was sure she was in there and he had to try again, "Chris. If you don't open the door I'm going to have to kick it open." A second passed and he looked over at Olivia who motioned to the door. He shook his head in agreement positioning himself in front of it. He moved to brace himself when the handle began to jiggle.

Without a sound the door swung open. Elliot peered into the room. There he found Marcus secured to the wall. Chris had bound and gagged him and he was now strapped in his own bondage device unable to move. He couldn't help put smirk at the irony of the situation. He was sure Chris made it a point to make him feel the same pain she did. He turned his attention to her. Chris was now standing no more than ten feet away pointing his revolver at the bound man and she was not taking her eyes off of her target.

Olivia now had her gun trained on Chris as Elliot tried to talk to her. "Chris, look at me." She shook her head, but didn't make a sound. "Chris, please look at me. I can help you. You don't want to do this." She still didn't answer him. It was Olivia's turn, "Chris, we know about the baby. Where is it? Is it here?" Chris again shook her head this time letting a tear streak down her cheek. Elliot now addressed the situation, "Chris, where's the baby?" He didn't get the response he was hoping for. Chris cocked the gun, "She's dead," she answered, "and he killed her."


	9. Chapter 9

_Author's Note: I don't own Law & Order: SVU._

The words ran through his mind. The baby was dead and now the only person he needed to protect was her. She may not want to be protected anymore. He knew if he didn't keep her talking she was going to pull the trigger. He was not about to lose her again. "Chris, you need to think this through. If you kill him you go to jail. There's no justice in that." A moment passed and he watched her eyes glaze over in thought. She responded, "Justice? He goes to prison for what, 10 years and then he's out and free to do whatever he wants? The bastard doesn't care about anybody but himself. He didn't even care about his own daughter. Someone threw $50,000 in his face to spend one night with me and he jumps at the chance. I knew I didn't mean anything to him, but I at least thought he cared about her then he throws me to the wolves for a lousy 50 grand."

She paused. Her breath became shallow and words came slower, "When it was all over I felt so disgusting. I walked up and down main street crying. I was in such a daze and I had lost so much blood I couldn't tell what blood was coming from where. It wasn't until I started cramping up that I realized what was going on. I don't remember walking to the hospital, but I ended up there somehow. The nurse told me they found me out front unconscious. Maybe some good Samaritan took me, who knows."

Elliot listened as she became more and more distant, lost to the story in her head. He got just as lost, the movie playing in his mind once again. His sister wandering aimlessly through the streets, keeling over in pain and covered in blood from head to toe. His hand tightened on the trigger of his pistol as he turned his attention to Marcus. The anger he had put aside was now slowly rising to the surface. At this point he was trying to talk himself out of raising his gun and shooting Marcus square in the chest. "Elliot," Olivia whispered to him. As he turned his focus to her he felt the warm sensation of the tears streaming down his cheeks.

Her story continued, "When I woke up the nurse told me my daughter was still born. According to the law, my baby wasn't even a person yet, but she was to me. Through everything he put me through I had one thing in my life to look forward to. I already had a plan to get away. I was going to introduce my baby to her uncle and beg him to take us in. I knew he would never be able to say no to that cute little face. I pictured that face everyday and I talked to her. I knew she was listening because she would always kick back. She was the only thing precious thing in my life and he took her away like he took away everything else."

Olivia looked over at Elliot. He was trying his best to brush away the tears that continued to form in his eyes as she recounted her short brush with motherhood. He realized that he had been wrong all along. She didn't want him to stop her; she wanted him to kill her. Olivia whispered to him, "Elliot, she going to kill him." He nodded, "I know." Chris caught his attention again, "I'm sorry you never got to meet her, Elliot. I know you would have been as proud as I was." He responded, "I know I would have been, but, Chris, you told me the other day that you were a survivor. What that just hot air? "

Olivia again whispered to him, "I have to stop this." Chris added, "I thought I could move, but I can't even close my eyes without seeing her face and it's his fault. He killed her and I went with her." Elliot finally nodded to Olivia. Things seemed to move in slow motion. He watched as Chris' eyes suddenly became very aware and stared straight at Marcus. He watched her finger begin to squeeze the trigger. Elliot yelled, "No," as a shot rang through the house.

Chris fell to the ground with a thud. Elliot holstered his pistol as he ran to her. He grabbed the other gun and placed it in his pocket. He rolled her over meeting his eyes with her. She clutched her right shoulder as the blood began to flow down her arm. He slowly helped sit her up as Olivia came behind them with a towel. Elliot grabbed the cloth and placed it over the seeping wound. Chris let out a deep breath as she continued to clutch the towel in pain. "You're going to be alright," he looked her in the eyes trying his best to not only reassure her but himself as well.

Olivia walked up to Marcus and undid the leather restraints. As he slowly made his way out of them she grabbed his arm and put one cuff around the first wrist. Soon she had both of his hands cuffed behind his back. She informed him that he was under arrest for soliciting, rape and assault and battery. She read him his rights, but unfortunately had to remove the gag to allow him to respond. She slowly pulled the tape and cloth from his mouth. He turned his sights on Chris as she sat cowering against the wall, "That's what you get, bitch."

Elliot took no time getting on his feet and in Marcus' face. He removed his gun from his holster and pushed it into his cheek. Olivia held on to Marcus' hands, but made sure to get out of the possible bullet wound path. "Elliot," she softly stated. He took in a deep breath and stared into Marcus' eyes making sure to keep his gun pressed against his face. "Say anything else like that and I'll shoot you myself." Marcus simply nodded too afraid to speak again. Elliot slowly removed the gun and re-holstered it as he returned to Chris' side. "I'll call it in," Olivia interjected as she led Marcus outside. Elliot nodded keeping both eyes on his sister.

St. John's Memorial Hospital

Elliot sat straight up staring at his recovering sibling as she slept. It had been a long day and he knew he should try to get some sleep, but it didn't look like it was happening tonight. Visiting hours had ended two hours before, but he was determined to stay by her side that night. In the state she was in, any nightmare was liable send her back over the edge.

He could have tried to have the one arm she could move restrained, but decided it was best to stay with her and try to talk her down. She hadn't said much since the earlier scene with Marcus. He really didn't know what to say. As he watched her sleep he reflected on her face as a baby. He was ten years old, but he remembered that day like it was yesterday. He wished all nine months that he would get a little sister. The first time he held her she was so tiny with those big brown eyes and a full head of hair. He then began to picture her holding a baby that looked just like she did at that age. He then began to think about the births of his own children. The happiness he felt that first time he held each. The same happiness she was clinging on to before it was stripped away.

He wrangled his thoughts back to her sleeping face and focused in on her arm, now propped up in a sling after having taken a bullet. A bullet she wanted to pierce her heart just to take away the pain of everything she had endured over the past two years. One last bit of pain to escape the images in her head. He then began to wonder why he was able to resist that same temptation he had been lucky enough to save her from. The temptation to put his barrel in his mouth and pull the trigger to escape the images he faced everyday. Maybe there was some greater reason he was supposed to be here.

She shifted her head to the side now opening her eyes to gaze at him. "What time is it?" she asked. He looked at his watch as he stood from his chair taking a seat next to her in the bed, "2:23." She rubbed her eyes, "That isn't AM is it?" He smiled and nodded to her. "How's your arm?" he questioned. "It's fine. You know, I go there to shoot that bastard and end up getting shot by my brother of all people," she sarcastically remarked. He shook his head, "Nope, that was all Olivia." She looked off to the side, "Remind me never to piss her off."

"Tell me the truth, Chris," he quickly changed the topic, "You wanted me to shoot you, didn't you?" She remained quiet as she kept her eyes away from his. A few seconds passed before she responded, "Maybe I did." He shook his head, "You could have told me. I could have gotten you help. I still can." Chris became really quiet. "Chris, look at me," he requested. She slowly turned her eyes meeting his as he noticed the tear trickling down her cheek, "You were right before, about being a survivor. You could have ended it any time, but you didn't. The reason you couldn't do it yourself is because you truly didn't want to. You may not think I understand what you're going through, but I know what it's like to not be able to close your eyes and disappear from the reality you face everyday. Even sleep isn't comforting anymore. The loneliness and the sadness and then the horrifying experiences pile up until you feel like any second you are going to break. Trust me, I know how that feels, but you still wake up and get out of bed. Why? Because you hope that something better will come along. Maybe today things will be different. Not giving up makes you a survivor."

She just sat and stared as his passionate revelation. As he listened to his own words he knew they weren't just for her, he was also trying to convince himself. For the first time in a long time he actually felt like there was something worth getting up in the morning for. Maybe she was the reason he was supposed to be here. "Ever since I graduated I felt so lost," she started, "Here's your diploma now welcome to the real world. I figured joining the Army was a way of controlling my life, but I felt even less in control while I was there. They told me when to eat, sleep, what to wear every day. I get out and ended up right back in the same situation, only this time I wasn't dodging bullets, I was dodging fists. All I wanted was to feel in control. I was having a baby. That was my small chance at something constant in my life. Just that one little bit of control. When she died, there was nothing." She paused. "When I held that gun on Marcus I felt powerful. I was finally strong. Now that I'm laying here, I feel just as lost as before."

"Will you speak to my friend? He might be able to help." She turned away from him as she sat for a few seconds in contemplation. Turning back she said, "Yes, on one condition. You talk to him about what's going on with you and I mean everything including what happened with you and Kathy." He let out a sigh, shook his head and smiled at her, "You got a deal," he stated as she returned the smile. She was right, maybe it was time for him to talk to someone. He had been avoiding it for so long, but now it seemed like there was no reason to run from it anymore. Everything she faced was mirrored in his life and he had just admitted it out loud. She finally got him to acknowledge that something was wrong. He chuckled to himself, maybe he was why she was supposed to be here.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

Captain Cragen's office was colder than Elliot ever remembered it being. He figured it had something to do with the feeling the Captain was giving off and less to do with the actual temperature of the room. Elliot glanced over at Olivia who looked just as whipped as he must have. The two partners sat quietly waiting for their impending scolding. The Captain just continued to glare at them.

The ticking of his tiny clock was mind numbing as Elliot tried to exert any sort of patience through this test of wills. Yelling would be better than this tense silence, but he knew he didn't want to be the first one to speak. Captain Cragen rose from his desk never removing his eyes from the two. The silence was finally broken, "When Chris went missing I should have been called." They both just nodded to him knowing full well there was nothing that could say to justify not informing him. "You have nothing to say for yourselves?"

"We didn't want to make a potentially volatile situation worse," Olivia interjected. "Right. So you walked into a situation where you knew a weapon was involved without any back up? You didn't know for sure how many people there were or any real details about what you could be walking into." The two continued to stare blankly. "You know you could have gotten yourselves killed or Chris?" Elliot nodded his head as Olivia kept still. The Captain continued to stare them down, but as a few seconds passed his facial expression shifted. "With all common sense and good judgment put aside, I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing if the rolls weren't reversed." Elliot let out the breath he was holding as he realized Captain Cragen wasn't going to chew them out.

"That isn't to say that what you two did wasn't stupid, but I can understand why you did it and in the end, it was the right decision." They both nodded to him as Elliot commented, "Thanks Cap" Elliot began to stand from the chair as the door behind them caught his attention. "Not so fast," Casey walked in. "Hello counselor," Elliot greeted the Assistant DA as he returned to his sitting position. She placed her brief case on the desk and leaned up against it facing them.

"What are we looking at?" Olivia questioned. Casey replied, "There is no way I'm going to put Chris through a trial, but I can't just forget what she did. You said she has been talking to Wong, right?" Elliot nodded. "Get him to give me a report on her mental status. She pleads guilty to simple assault, she gets two years probation. I also have to have a written agreement that she will testify against Marcus."

"What about Shondra?" Elliot asked. "She can only testify to her interactions with Marcus for the short time she knew him and the one incident with Dent. Chris is the only one who knows how large his operation was and the others that were involved. Her testimony will put him away for a long time." "I'll talk to her," Elliot stated knowing full well not to assume anything in regards to her reaction at this point. "I need to know by the end of the day," she replied. The partners watched as she stood from the desk, removed her briefcase and walked out the door. Olivia also stood from her seat, "I need to make some phone calls," she stated as she followed behind.

Elliot continued to glance in the direction of the Captain who was now comfortably seated behind his desk. "I guess I should head out too," he stated standing from his chair. "Elliot, wait," the Captain ordered. Elliot turned to face him as he continued, "How's Chris?" Elliot softened his expression, "She's doing okay. Her arm's healing up and she's taking it easy. I know she's loving all the pain meds they've got her on. I'm actually going to see her now."

The Captain let out a smile but dropped it with his next question, "Do you think she'll agree to Casey's terms?" Elliot shrugged his shoulders in an 'I don't know' response. "You may want to introduce her to Shondra Wallace. It might help push her in the right direction." Elliot looked at him as the advice sunk in. He nodded to the Captain as he headed out of the office.

St. John's Memorial Hospital

Elliot slowly crept into the hospital room unsure if he would end up waking Chris up or not. As he pulled the curtain back he found her laying with her eyes closed listening to something through headphones. He tapped on her arm. She shot her eyes open and turned to him. Upon realizing who is was she quickly calmed down. "Hey," she said glancing at him. Someone behind her caught her eye. A young black female was peeking over his shoulder. She turned her attention back to him with a questioning look. "There's someone I'd like you to meet," he said. Shondra slowly moved from behind him to face her.

Chris shook her head in Shondra's direction as Elliot introduced them, "Chris this is Shondra Wallace. Shondra this is Christina Stabler." Chris continued to stare at Elliot waiting for a little more explanation than the short introduction. Elliot took a seat on the adjacent empty bed, "Shondra knew Rubin Marcus." Chris looked away as Shondra waited for any type of welcoming response. She finally turned back to her guest, "I'm sorry to hear that," she coldly stated.

Elliot helped to further things along, "I thought you needed to hear her story." Chris' frustration was evident on her face as she stared intently at him, "Elliot, if you're trying to convince me to," Shondra interrupted her. "Please, Ms. Stabler. I just need to share this with someone who understands what I've been through. What you do from there is your decision." Chris took a second, but finally nodded for her to continue.

"I met Rubin Marcus two weeks ago. I was hanging out in a bar with a group of friends when he came up with the normal pick up lines. I brushed him off like I do most guys, but he was persistent. I thought that was charming. He convinced me to go back to his place and have a night cap. He poured us champagne and we began talking. I don't really remember much else after that. I woke up in straps down in his basement. Two days later I found myself strapped to Jack Dent's wall getting beaten and whipped and raped over and over again asking myself what I did to deserve this. I really hoped he was going to kill me that night. I prayed that I was going to die. The next day I found myself in a hospital bed and even though I couldn't move or speak, I was free. I thanked God over and over again."

Chris nodded her understanding as Shondra continued, "I can't possibly imagine what you suffered through for all that time, but I know that those few days I lived through were hell and Rubin Marcus was the reason. My testimony is only going to get him a few years for what he did. You are the only one who can make him truly suffer. You have all the power and I'm begging you, please put that animal away for as long as you can."

Elliot stood from the bed after watching his sister take in the fact that Shondra Wallace wasn't some hooker he picked up off the street. He wined and dined some poor woman who ended up and accessory on his wall. He really was responsible for hurting a lot of innocent women and whether she wanted to face it or not, she was just as innocent. Shondra was able to give all those other women a face. Chris stared at her as Elliot stood beside her bed. He questioned, "Chris, now you're in control. Are you going to use it?"

Two Weeks Later

Elliot sat staring coldly at Rubin Marcus. Marcus was now neatly dressed in his blue suit and tie trying his best to put on his innocent face for the judge and jury. Opening arguments had been made the day before. It was now time for the first witness to be called. The courtroom got very quiet as Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak stood from her seat, "Your honor, the State would like to call Christina Stabler to the stand." All eyes turned to the back of the room. A bailiff approached one of the doors as it slowly swung open. There she was dressed in her new black and grey pin striped pants suit. She kept her head held high and her eyes on the witness stand.

Elliot watched as she came within inches of platform and turned facing out. He could see her strong eyes bare down on Rubin Marcus. He let out a smirk as Marcus began to squirm in his chair. Casey approached her, "Please state your name for the record." She kept her eyes firmly planted on Marcus, "Christina Stabler." Casey motioned to her, "Can you please tell us how you met Rubin Marcus?" Elliot watched as Chris nodded to her, took a deep breath and began her story. She refused to look away from Marcus as she recounted every horrifying detail of what he had put her through. She wasn't embarrassed and she wasn't scared. She stared at him with the same determination and courage she had two weeks earlier. She may not have been holding a gun, but she certainly had all the control. She, once again, felt powerful.


End file.
